It comes amid growing pressure from MPs, party members and child poverty campaigners to lift the cap.
The Labour government is set to lift the two-child benefit cap, which is pushing thousands of children into poverty, in the November budget.
It comes amid growing pressure from MPs, party members and child poverty campaigners to lift the cap.
Earlier last month, it was reported that the Child Poverty Taskforce, set up after the election to tackle child poverty in the country, had concluded that lifting the two-child benefit cap is the “best way” to alleviate the problem.
The two-child benefit cap was introduced by George Osborne as Conservative chancellor. It bars families from claiming the £292.81-a-month child element of universal credit for third and subsequent children born after April 6, 2017.
According to the Child Poverty Action Group, every day it remains in place, 109 more children are pulled into poverty by the policy. If the policy were scrapped, 350,000 children would be lifted from poverty instantly, at a cost of £2bn. The depth of poverty would be reduced for another 800,000 children.
Now the Guardian reports that the chancellor is planning on lifting the two-child cap in the budget, with officials exploring options of a tapered system instead.
The paper reports: “The Treasury is exploring instead whether the additional benefits might be limited to three or four children, or whether there could be a tapered rate introduced so parents would get the most for their first child and less for subsequent children.
“Another option under consideration is to lift the cap only for working parents on universal credit, to encourage more people into the workforce.”
However, child poverty campaigners have called for the policy to be lifted in full.
The End Child Poverty Coalition said: “This policy must be scrapped in full for all. Otherwise some families will be forced to remain in poverty because of this government’s choices.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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